One week after saying "you'll have to ask President Obama" when asked if he believes the president is a Christian, Rev. Franklin Graham has issued an apology for "any comments I have ever made which may have cast any doubt on the personal faith of our president, Mr. Obama."
Graham, the son of Rev. Billy Graham and a nationally known religious leader in his own right, made his original comments last week on MSNBC-TV's Morning Joe. His statement of apology was first reported by Religion News Service.
The news service adds that:
"Graham's apology came after a group of prominent black religious leaders criticized the evangelist for saying he did not know whether Obama is a Christian and suggesting that Islamic law considers him to be a Muslim."
In his statement, as CNN adds, Graham also states that:
"The president has said he is a Christian and I accept that (and have said so publicly on many occasions). I apologize to him and to any I have offended for not better articulating my reason for not supporting him in this election — for his faith has nothing to do with my consideration of him as a candidate."
During the Morning Joe conversation, Graham also said of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's religion that "most Christians would not recognize Mormonism as part of the Christian faith."
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